The launch of Apple's iPhone is just days away and people
are already
starting to camp out for the next "it" device. Close to 400,000 units
could be up for grabs on launch day from 162 Apple Store and roughly 1,800
AT&T locations.

Today, Apple and AT&T announced three rate plans
that will be available for the iPhone.

"We want to make choosing a service plan simple and
easy, so every plan includes unlimited data with direct Internet access, along
with Visual Voicemail and a host of other goodies," said Apple CEO Steve
Jobs. "We think these three plans give customers the flexibility to
experience all of iPhone’s revolutionary features at affordable and competitive
prices."

The entry-level $59.99 plan will get you 450 anytime minutes
along with 5,000 nights and weekend minutes. Stepping up to the $79.99 plan
will get you 900 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends. The
top-level $99 plan gets you 1350 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and
weekends.

Also noted in the press release is that a one-time
activation fee of $36 will be charged for the iPhone. Given the extremely high interest
level for the iPhone, it's likely that not many will bat an eye at the
charge which would usually irritate consumers.

In addition, Apple and AT&T also announced that new
iPhone users will be able to activate their phone through iTunes -- there is no
need to wait at the store to go through the activation process.

"Users will be able to activate their new iPhone in the
comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a
store while their phone is activated," said Jobs. "There are tens of
millions of people in the US who already know how to sync their iPods with
iTunes, and syncing their new iPhone with iTunes works the same way."

"iPhone’s user-driven activation is another example of
how AT&T and Apple have partnered to bring innovative new features to our
customers," said AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson.
"iPhone’s innovative activation and sync is just one example of how this
is going to be a real industry game-changer."

I'm going to go ahead and predict that the iPhone turns out to be a disaster. Not because it doesn't have great features mind you, but that another company will bring just as many features at a fraction of the price. I mean come on...$500 - 4GB$60 - 450 minutes$36 - activation=$596 for a phone and a horrible calling plan.

Top of the line...$600 - 8GB$100 - 1350 minutes$36 - activation=$736

This thing trumps the PS3 in price!!! How ridiculous is that for a mere phone?

Sprint is by FAR the best carrier for both data and voice...If people know their history and market, verizon, ATT/Cingular, metro PCS, Boost, Cricket, et all, run their networks over sprint cables... Sprint stands roughly for Southern Pacific Rail and Information Telesystems... Almost 90 percent of the optic and copper datalines run under Southern Pacific railroads lines. While many/most carriers fight over location of transmitter towers, all of the data leaving the tower travels over a sprint backbone...

Sprint used to be Bell Communications for anyone who remembers them... Bought in liquedation by SPR

Anyhow, all the other wireless carriers were fed up with apples preening and self importance, and told them to go fuck themselves. ATT/Cingular is hoping that the IPhone will revitalize their failing company.

The only reasons I could see the IPhone taking off are:1. IFLOCK. Never underestimate the herding behavior if the human being.2. Simple sync of the phone though Itunes, which everybody has. Most phones are in the suck when it comes to syncing with a PC.

That was the funniest thing I've seen all day. I can give you the numbers of several unhappy Sprint customers. I've only met 1 happy Sprint customers, and that was only because he wanted a specific phone. Sprint is, by miles, the WORST carrier ever. I have a friend who has Nextel. Pre-Sprint, it worked great. Post-Sprint, 95% of my calls to his phone go to voice mail. I often asked him if he heard the phone ring. His answer was always no. His wife says the same things. I have more. And they ALL complain about Sprint nickel-and-diming them to death.

This I have to agree with. If I relied on my Sprint phone for business I would have serious issues. At least have my calls never ring on the phone and half the time I'm roaming on Verizon even in a major city. Since its only for personal calls and the data works very good anytime I'm not roaming, I'm happy with what I pay.

Sprints quality of service blows though, at least in the DC area. I had T-mobile for years and got much better service, but their dataplans were insanely expensive and the data is more important to me then the voice quality.

Cellular quality is really regionally based... All these carriers are pasted together from previous companies that covered different regions. So the quality of service (both phone/data and customer service) all depends on where you live for any of the major carriers. You both may be correct.

This is true, because where I live, Kansas City (home of Sprint), Sprint service is excellent. But then again I am with AT&T/Cingular because of better prices, and I don't have problems with it either. I rarely find myself in an area where I don't have service. Even my 3g service is excellent.

Have to agree with you about Nextel before and after Sprint. I worked for Them just before the buy out. I had unlimited minutes and internet, and I used the hell out of it. It was by far the BEST service. It was like selling water because the brand really had a reputation of quality behind it. At the time they were doing very well: they had the highest average monthly customer charge, the lowest churn, good customer service ratings, and a rapidly growing user base. I bought a little employee stock which more than doubled while I was employed there. The whole empire hinged on Direct Connect though - something you don't even hear about any more. For some reason the Walkie-Talkie feature which made Nextel has lapsed into oblivion with Sprint "Together with Nextel" (Our totally silent partner who we locked in a room and don't feed.)

It's sad, becuase to be perfectly honest the largest number of people who came into that store looking to switch - by far - came from Sprint. I've always laughed that they all got sucked back in, so to speak.

Nextel was definitely the best carrier to be with. You got paid well, unlimited minutes, you got a free phone and super cheap top-end phones, and they even had good health and commission rates. On top of that they had that killer service and brand loyalty. Especially in coprorate, construction, government, and education....

I have a feeling they just didn't have the money and resources to compete in the next-gen wireless network game. That, or the someone cashed out.

Ok, enough with the Sprint bashing. I am in the Dallas area and have had Sprint for 8 years. While not perfect, their service is a lot better than their competition. My calls sound clear and strong. Whenever someone who is not on Sprint calls I can immediately tell the difference. AT&T voice quality flat out sucks. Sprint has the fastest data speeds although I rarely use the phone's browser when I'm out, just use it to connect my laptop when out on the road. The only thing that Sprint could improve on is the phone selection. As far as Nextel goes... couldn't tell ya there, but I am guessing they'll faze out the Nextel brand within five years. As for the "walkie-talkie" feature, I'm sure it's great for when you are doing on-site construction or are out on the factory floor. But when you see morons using it to carry on a conversation at a sit-down restaurant or in line at the grocery store you just want to run the retards over with your cart. It's bad enough that idiots talk on cell phones everywhere. Now just throw in that stupid "walkie-talkie" feature and it goes something like this...

Idiot 1: *BLEE-BEEEP* Hey, what are you doing?Idiot 2: *BLEE-BEEEP* Hey, standing in line at Wal-Mart.Idiot 2: *BLEE-BEEEP* What are you doing?Idiot 1: *BLEE-BEEEP* At AMC watching a movie.Idiot 2: *BLEE-BEEEP* What are you watching?Idiot 1: *BLEE-BEEEP* Some movie with Robert DiNiro. Just a second... WHY DON'T YOU SHUTUP?...Idiot 1: *BLEE-BEEEP* Ok, I'm back. Some loser was getting in my face while I'm trying to watch the movie.Idiot 2: *BLEE-BEEEP* I hear ya homie. Look I gotta go. I can't hear what the checkout girl wants.Idiot 2: *BLEE-BEEEP* I'll call you back once I get to the restroom. I gotta go reeeal bad.Idiot 1: *BLEE-BEEEP* Werrrd. Latez.

I totally disagree with you! I had Cingular (Pacbell) back int he day and before that AT&T. My Mom went from being with AT&T for 5 years to Nextel. My dad had Pacbell (cingular), Sprint, and is now very unhappily with T-Mobile. My sister left Nextel and is with me now on Sprint. Sprint is by far the best service we have ever had!!!!!!!!!! They did screw with my dad several times but it was all mistakes that were quickly fixed but due to that and him wanting more minutes with his GF he switched to tmobile. I am VERY happy with sprint, I get coverage nearly everywhere (except a 1 hour stretch on the 10 in Texas, data is the best, plan pricing is a little high but competitive.I LOVE SPRINT!!!! and no iphone will get me to switch even though in the last 2 years phone quality itself has dropped on their service, they went from having the best phones to nothing. I had the Samsung Blade for the last 1.5 years and now have the Samsung Upstage. Been with them 3 years and counting.

I have to agree, I've had Sprint for about five years now and while I won't sing their praises from a rooftop they've been good to me. Their pricing is some of the better I've seen, coverage might not be as good as Verison but it works just everywhere I need it to. Best part is they'll through out some decent extras to get you to re-sign. I've gotten a few free upgrades to my calling plan over the years to renew my contract.I do wish the phone selection was better but part of that is me, I can't have a camera phone at work, so a lot of the ones I like I can't get unless I don't take them to work (which kind of defeats the purpose of having a cell).

I have Verizon btw. We had Sprint but for some reason in my parents house we couldn't get a signal. Just there. I could be under the building of where I worked at the time and get a signal, but not at my parents house. So we switched. Verizon is just as good as Sprint though. I worked for Sprint as a sales rep though for a year in college and found out all the nasty secrets that the other carriers don't tell you (Verizon didn't have any). I'll never use Cingular/AT&T or T-Mobile.

I find it interesting how people say one service stinks and another rules. Call my cynical, but I basically view all cell companies as the same. Sure their rates differ and the coverages differ, but in the end, a lot of people will be satisfied but some will be screwed over royally.

About verizon: A co-worker of mine had a terrible time with Verizon's customer support. Short story is that they payed their bill via bill-pay at their bank, and Verizon could find no record of it (even though they took the money). He jumped through hoops for months obtaining data from their bank, etc, but in the end Verizon would never accept the data that THEY REQUESTED as proof that they paid. They even called corporate headquarters and the person they talked too laughed at them when they suggested legal action because they Verizon has an army of lawyers and they're just some peeved customers. Their customer support even told them to 'F Off'. No kidding.

So maybe your verizon service is great, but don't get in a dispute with them. You'll get bent over the futon...

None of the companies have a reason to improve their support because they all stink. It's kind of like price fixing. If they all agree to not improve their customer support then none of them have to.

I pay $65 a month for 500 anytime minutes, and then unlimited EVERYTHING else. Thats unlimited text, IM, mobile-mobile calls, web browsing, pic and video messaging, and GPS use. All while being on a 3G network. This is all with Helio, on my Ocean.

I think the iPhone device prices are fine. Its got a lot of great stuff going on, so thats fine with me. But the plan prices are a bit high. Thats less anytime minutes, a limited number of night and weekend minutes, VERY limited number of texts, and no 3G coverage. No thanks.

I like Apple, and think the phone looks great. But, like many people, I'll wait for version 2.0 at the earliest. Then maybe, once they at least get some 3G in there, it will be worth it for me. Not until then though.

Is 5,000 minutes really "limited"? I mean, does anyone actually talk on the phone for more then 83 hours a month outside of business hours? That's just a bit shy of 3 hours a day, each and every day of the month.

Maybe it's just me, but I just don't have enough happening in my life to talk to anyone that much! :)

Is 5,000 minutes a lot? Totally. But, there IS a limit. And, when you work 8-5 M-F like I do, many of the minutes I talk on my cell are during those times. I don't believe I've ever gotten anywhere close to 5,000. But just knowing it won't matter if I do is nice.

I didn't mean that to sound like I was saying its "limited" as in problematic. Just that there IS a limit in their plan, which I do not have. Aside from the 500 anytime minutes I get, every single other use of my phone is unlimited for me. And "UNLIMITED" is much better than "LIMITED" in my book. Regardless of how high the limit is.

I'm using the same plan that darkpaw is (SERO for the win!) with my PPC-6700. Screen-wise, the iPhone isn't much better than my 6700 so it's pretty comparable. $30 for 450 minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile, and unlimited internet. I use my phone for a standalone web browser when I'm waiting somewhere and I tether it to my laptop for internet on the road.

The iPhone is pretty and has lots of nice functions, but those are clearly "early adopter" rate plans. If Cingular ever brings the rate plans down to what I am paying now with Sprint and Apple integrates 3G into the iPhone then I might consider buying one. No way I'd switch right now.

As reticent as I am to defend Apple/AT&T, the plan pricing seems reasonable to me.

I’m paying $70 a month for 1000 minutes and unlimited data on my T-Mobile Wing, 39.95 for voice and $29.95 for data. And that doesn’t include SMS, which I use very little with 3 email accounts I have set up on my phone.

I have the Blackberry Minutes and Mail package... $60 a month, unlimited internet, unlimited text messaging (incl IM) and 1000 anytime minutes. Its really the perfect plan for me. My only complaint is that T mobile's internet is not all that fast.

Oh, and T Mobile allows you to tether your phone to your computer for the internet at no additional charge! Basically, I can get internet any where, and I love it!

Sony needs to put a spy satellite in orbit and train it in on Apple HQ for the next few months. If Apple can sell a ~$700 cellphone better than Sony can sell ~$700 digital entertainment system/BR disk/gaming rig then Sony needs to hijack the Apple marketing group at gun point for about 6 months.

Re touch screens: actually I tried a touch screen on an HP notebook and found it not to be an exact science. Deliberate touching several times on the corner of window bar regions to close or alter or hide or move a window. I suppose it can be fine-tuned. I think if the iPhone does not use windows that problem is solved. Otherwise, touch panels seem exciting enough on microwave ovens & touch screens long-overdue for phones. Blackberry's mouse roller drives an average guy crazy and it looks like she's stroking a device! Of course finger scrolling...

I'm with cingular (The new AT&T!) and as someone mentioned in another comment, their plans may not be as competitive as the one that you're mentioning here. For their $69.99 plan, I get the same thing except I pay for data (i.e. same plan - unlimited data) and pay $40 a month (excluding corporate discounts). It's actually not that bad if you compare it to Cingular's current plans.

1) It's probably a good thing then that Apple doesn't compete on features but instead on UI and user experience (see the iPod for an example)2) Name another company that was able to release something competitive to the iPod within a year of an iPod before Apple released a newer, cooler iPod! All of Creative's stuff was released, at the earliest, 9 months after Apple, and in the case of their big guns, over a year later. So if Apple has a year's head start with the iPhone, they will be able to release a cheaper, cooler, and nicer one by this time next year when the competition will be able to release something competitive to v1 iPhone

I think you underestimate the power of marketing and brand recognition. BMW is a great example. You have a premium brand that sells on primarily on quality and uses performance as a secondary selling point. Case in point - a new BMW 328i 4 cylinder with a measly 230 hp, at BASE price costs $32,400. With that said, this vehicle continues to sell very well.The point is that it's a luxury item, just like a $700 Coach Bag, or a $10,000 Rolex. People use it for stature. I mean at least this has some practical use. Sure the itemized report of how much the materials costs falls way short of the MSRP. We live in a nation where the greater majority is not as technically savy as this board, and wouldn't know the slightest about 3G, EDGE, or what's a reasonable price of 1 Extra Gig. As a Marketing professional, I find it highly improbable that the iPhone will be a failure, and highly probable that you'll be eating your comments within a few months.

BMW didn't squeeze out 230HP out of a naturally aspirated 4-banger. They're using a 3 liter inline 6. Their 230HP was also eeked out using premium gas, if it was designed to run factory on 87 octane they'd probably be around 215-220. Either way it only puts out 200 ft/lbs of torque. Their twin-turbo version of the same motor does much better at roughly 300HP/300 ft/lbs.

Still, you're right that BMWs are status above speed. So more to the point, 3-series are actually the affordable BMWs. A better BMW to use in this example would be a 5-series, especially the 528. Much higher price tag, extreme bragging rights, power is secondary.

quote: I'm going to go ahead and predict that the iPhone turns out to be a disaster. Not because it doesn't have great features mind you, but that another company will bring just as many features at a fraction of the price.

This is the case with just about everything that Apple makes. There are several mp3 players with much lower price points and more features, but guess what the iPod is still number 1. The problem with the others is that they aren't cool. Almost all Apple products have the cool factor built in because of their brilliant marketing. Their products are very well built too. Fit and finish are top notch, I have both an HP & MacBook Pro and the Mac is just such a better machine all around.

To say the iPhone will be a disaster will only be true if the network (which hasn't sounded to good so far) brings it down.

You need to go back to the 1st gen iPod if you want to talk about "several players with much lower price points and more features". All the current contenders (Zune, Zen, Clix, Archos, Sansa) are essentially iPod clones.

Before the iPod changed the landscape, you had the PMPs, PJBs, Nomad Jukeboxes, Yepps, and MDs.

The lower price points you speak of are a market response to Apple's dominance, an attempt to take marketshare away by lowering the price point of entry; the same with additional features.

Apple rose to dominance because they did, from October 2001, have a superior form factor, user interface, and usability compared to the Yepps, Nomads, MDs, PMPs, and PJBs.

So if the iPhone is a success, expect in two years for everyone else to have a touch screen, large screen, keyless form factor. If it is a bust, well, expect no copycats :)

There are Smarphones that are sold to businesses with less then a gig of accessible on board memory, and almost no features other then email and sluggish displays that cost $600 bucks. Apple has just upped the anti, and now people are realizing what they are missing and resenting the price.

Yeah that's also for only one month. but with the iPhone you also get...*an overinflated sense of self-worth*a piece of electronica that will be obsolete in 6 months*The ability to practice your screen-washing skills when you realize that "optical quality glass" means "fingerprint magnet"*a new way to act like a badass apple fan when really, you don't know shit about either them, electronics, computers, or your own sexuality.